Chapter 49 - Sacred Mountain in Myanmar (Part III)

Nie Baoguo took a sip of tea before continuing, “At first, we simply couldn’t believe it, because it was too incredible. We thought it was just a story made up by the Japanese army to cover up some truth.”

“Later, after asking around, we learned that the mountain in Myanmar is known as the Sacred Mountain. The locals say that there is a treasure left by a heavenly deity within the mountain, guarded by a deity. Any mortal who enters never returns, becoming a servant of the deity.”

“They also said that in ancient times, a young girl was offered every year to worship the deity. Even now, some villages nearby continue the ritual annually, only they’ve replaced the young girl with Paper Dolls, and the location has shifted from the deep mountains to the river. That’s because the locals are too frightened to go near the mountain. They believe the river will carry these Paper Dolls to the deity on the mountain.”

“In the 1990s, some foreign expeditions entered the mountain, and all of them disappeared. Numerous rescue teams from abroad tried to find them but failed, losing many lives in the process, which led the Myanmar government to declare the mountain a restricted zone.”

“We decided to send a small special forces team to Myanmar to look for clues.”

“To prevent any mishaps, we equipped them with the most advanced weapons, communication equipment, and satellite positioning systems. They could even transmit signals directly to us via satellite for video conversations.”

As he spoke, Nie Baoguo sighed, “But we only received a few brief video clips, and it was the last eerie footage that made me come to seek help from your grandfather.”

Nie Baoguo took a visual DV out of his bag and turned it on in front of Chen Shaoxian.

Shortly, the DV began playing footage. The video quality was poor, the image flickered severely, and there was a crackling sound, likely due to poor signal transmission. However, the footage clearly showed nine special forces members.

One of the special forces members fiddled with the device for a while, and then voices could be heard from the screen. He then reported to his superior, saying that they had reached the outskirts of the mountain, but they would not reach their destination until the next day. They planned to spend the night in the mountains ahead. He also mentioned that the signal was severely disrupted on the periphery of the mountain, and it was unclear what would happen once they entered.

In the DV footage, another voice could be heard, one that Chen Shaoxian recognized as Xiao Zhuang’s. Xiao Zhuang emphasized the importance of safety, urging them to intensify their vigilance at night and to keep their positioning and communication systems operational 24 hours a day, regardless of any signal interference. He instructed that if they encountered severe communication disruptions in the deep mountains and were unable to contact their superiors, they must evacuate immediately upon sensing danger.

Xiao Zhuang then imparted some final instructions before announcing the start of the operation. A special forces soldier facing the camera secretly made a face and then turned to command the other team members to commence their move.

As the squad proceeded deeper, the video quality in the DV deteriorated, with increasing static and crackling noises filling the air until the screen was completely overtaken by static. Occasionally, a fleeting image would appear but vanish in an instant.

Chen Shaoxian looked up to see Grandpa Nie and Xiao Zhuang with slightly reddened eyes, fixated on the screen. He softly asked, “Grandpa Nie, is that all?”

Nie Baoguo snapped back to reality, his eyes glued to the timestamp in the top left corner as he repeatedly pressed the fast-forward button. A brief image flickered by; Nie paused briefly as it passed, then continued fast-forwarding.

Chen Shaoxian noticed the fleeting image was just a foggy forest, with the timestamp in the top left corner showing around eleven o’clock at night.

At that moment, Nie Baoguo stopped; the screen was still full of static, the timestamp showing 9:20 in the morning. Suddenly, intermittent gunfire erupted from the DV, followed by a frantic shout, “Go on without me.” Then, more intense gunfire ensued.

The voice was familiar, likely belonging to the special forces soldier seen earlier. Chen Shaoxian glanced at the two men opposite him; their eyes were red, yet their faces bore relieved smiles.

Suddenly, an image appeared on the DV. It was vertical, likely because the device transmitting the image had fallen to the ground. The scene was silent and pitch black except for the device’s built-in light, which cast a beam of light.

Suddenly, a foot appeared on the screen, followed by many more. These feet moved forward, gradually revealing legs, and soon the backs of many people appeared in the frame. These individuals, clad in tattered clothes, seemed to be carrying something, but the beam of light could not reach above them, only showing their arms disappearing into the darkness above.

Next, a giant dog with a dark red coat appeared on the screen. This giant dog turned its head, its eyes lacking pupils and merely showing a smear of blood-red. Startlingly, another eye, this one deep black, was situated in the middle of its forehead.

The giant dog glanced at the machine before suddenly opening its mouth, which was still dripping with red saliva. Inside its mouth, there was no tongue, only sharp teeth filled the cavity, and something was lodged in its throat, though it was unclear what it was. As the mouth full of sharp teeth snapped shut, the screen tore apart, and all was gone.

Chen Shaoxian watched the giant dog on the screen, leaning back on the sofa deep in thought, then suddenly sat up as something occurred to him. He reached out to press the rewind button, pausing when the giant dog opened its mouth. Despite the blurry image, it was clear that what was lodged in the giant dog’s throat was a human head, skinless.

Chen Shaoxian’s fingers repeatedly pressed rewind and play, discovering that the fleshless head was indeed growing inside the throat of the giant dog.

Chen Shaoxian pursed his lips and said to the two people opposite him, “This is a Black-Eyed Inu Oni.”

Nie Baoguo nodded, looking at Chen Shaoxian and said, “I’ve seen one of these before, during the resistance against Japan. It was then that your grandfather intervened to save me, but the one I saw was a white giant dog, which your grandfather referred to as an Inugami.”

Chen Shaoxian explained to the elderly man, “Both of these creatures are products of Japanese Onmyōdō. The Inugami is entirely white with two eyes, both white, one of the most powerful types of Shikigami.”

“The Inu Oni, however, is covered in dark red with two eyes, both blood-red.”

“The distinction between these two entities is that the former is controlled by humans and passed from one generation to the next. Only after the death of the previous generation can the next one manipulate the Inugami. This is unlike other Shikigami, which can be controlled freely within the bounds of one’s abilities.”

“The latter, however, is purely a demonic creature. Although it can be controlled by humans, this control is temporary and each manipulation requires a Blood Sacrifice. Once controlled successfully, it manifests in the form of an Inugami, but its power is much greater. However, slight missteps can lead to adverse effects, which is why Onmyoji rarely use it under normal circumstances.”

“Should anything go awry, this creature will devour the person controlling it. After devouring its controller, the Inu Oni develops a third eye on its forehead, known as the Ghost Eye, and gains tremendous power. The price, however, is that it can only appear in the form of a giant dog and requires a Blood Sacrifice every month to prevent its body from cracking and drying out. Having devoured its controller and developed black eyes, it is thus called the Black-Eyed Inu Oni. Some cults that worship it also refer to it as the Black-Eyed Deity or Black-Eyed Vidyaraja.”

Chen Shaoxian thought to himself, “I never imagined such things truly existed.”